KARACHI: Admitting that the recent wave of inflation had increased prices of essential food items, the federal govern-ment on Friday, however, blamed the PPPled Sindh government for high prices of commodities in Karachi, alleging that the provincial authorities were deliberately supporting `wheat and sugar mafias` to get political gains.

`The PPP has been in power in Sindh for the last 13 years, but they are not ready to take any responsibility,` State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib told a press conference at Governor House.

Flanked by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Opposition Leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, the minister said the Sindh admin-istration had lef t the poor people, especially Karachiites, at the mercy of hoarders and profiteers as the supply of these commodides in Sindh, had been handed over to `mafias and cartels`.

`It`s not our claim; the numbers shared by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics say that 20-kilogram bag of wheat flour is being sold in Karachi at Rs1,470 while it is being sold in Lahore at Rs1,100. The Punjab government has ensured timely release of wheat to flour mills at subsidised rates.

He claimed that several communiqués were sent by Islamabad to the Sindh govern-ment to release stock of wheat in its warehouses, but the letters were ignored. `Some 1.2 million tonnes of wheat is lying in Sindh godowns,` he claimed.

The same was the case with sugar, he said, citing the price in Punjab where it was available at Rs90 per kilogram.

`Where are the Sindh government`s writ and its price checking mechanism,` he questioned. `Several sugar mills have shutdown their operation in Sindh due to nonsupply of raw material. This is a deliberate move by vested interests in Sindh government.

The state minister also blamed the PPP government f or putting hurdles in launch of the SehatInsafCardinSindh.

Murad slams `incompetent` PTI govt for inflation Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led federal government had proved itself to be one of the most inefficient and incompetent governments in the history of the country.

`People have realised the situation and therefore, nobody bothers to pay heed towards them and their statements,` the CM said while speaking to journalists after offering condolences with the relatives of Nazim Jokhio, who was beaten to death in Malir.

Mr Shah said early on Friday morning the federal government announced an increase in petrol prices by Rs8.14 per litre making it Rs145.82 per litre. `This is the relief the prime minister has given to the poor people,` he said sarcastically.

The prices of wheat flour, sugar, vegetables, pulses, tomato, potato, and onion had gone out of the purchasing power of people and what to talk about chicken and mutton, which had become totally unaffordable, he added.

He said that it was the prime minister who used to say that when the price of petroleum products went up by a rupee, it meant that the prime minister was a thief.

Mr Shah said that the people of this country had lost all their hopes in the PTI government, therefore, they, in large numbers, were participating in every protest staged against price hike.

`Our party [PPP] has become the voice of the people to condemn the PTI government for unleashing a tsunami of price hike,` he said and added that only the PPP could solve the problems faced by the country.